Selling products on Instagram tends to come more naturally
for business owners. You can take photos or videos of your products and there
is a more direct correlation to sales. When it comes to selling services using
Instagram, business owners often need a little help getting on the right track.
Instagram is a very powerful social media network, and can
be a great addition to your marketing strategy if it makes sense for your
target market and if it’s done well.
In this article, we’ll take a look at how to structure a
plan for selling your services with Instagram.
Pick a Signature
Style
Just like when selling products, having a cohesive aesthetic
will help your business keep a professional and clean Instagram page.
Using the colors of your brand as accent colors is a fun and
easy way to build brand recognition. For example, H&R Block uses plenty of
green in their Instagram photos, which not only grabs the eye while scrolling
through your feed, but builds on their brand. (Green = Money)
Create a Content Mix
Using social media in service-based industries is all about
creating connections.
You want to build connections with potential customers by providing
value, offering a helping hand, gaining trust, and giving opportunities to
relate to you.
To achieve those goals, implement the 4:3:2 rule for every 9 squares of your
Instagram page:
- Four posts should add value and help your target audience
- Three posts should create connections/opportunities to
relate
- Two posts should promote or sell your service
The content mix allows you to develop a relationship with
your followers and makes it so you’re not only pushing your services.
Ways to Provide Value
in Instagram Posts
Now that you know you should be providing value in your
posts, it’s time to brainstorm some ways to do that. Every industry (and
business for that matter) will vary in what exactly you’ll post, but these
general themes are a good way to get the creative juices flowing.
1. Educate
People often find service-based businesses when they have a
need. If you can sell your expertise by sharing tips that help them with their
problem, you will become a resource for them. When they’re ready to reach out
for help, you’ll be top of mind.
Don’t be afraid to give away your best advice. Your audience
will still be missing context and skill, which is where your business
opportunities lie.
2. Entertain
Providing value doesn’t always mean, it has to be boring. In
fact, using humor every once in a while in your feed is a great way to grab
people’s attention to a business that might otherwise be considered boring.
3. Inspire
Our last way to provide value through your Instagram is to
post inspirational quotes. However, not just any inspirational quote will work
the same.
When a potential customer comes to your business with a
need, it often stems from an underlying dream or fear. Find ways that your
business fits in with either promoting their dream or alleviating their fear.
For example, SkillShare is a service where you can sign up
and access over 180,000 classes online that can teach you all kinds of artistic
and practical skills such as watercolor painting, calligraphy, marketing, game
design, cooking, and much more. They posted an inspiration quote that would
play into the dream of an artist looking to create more.
Connect with Your
Audience
Three posts in your Instagram content plan should include
ways to connect with your audience. These are the times to show your brand’s
personality and share relatable stories.
Showcase Your Company
No matter the industry, people love seeing behind-the-scenes
action of what makes a business tick. If you’re not convinced your service is
interesting enough, just know that even Sandra Lee, MD aka Dr. Pimple Popper
has over 2.6 million followers that crave to see behind the scenes of her
dermatology work. (Don’t worry, we won’t show an example from her.)
A simple way to showcase your company is through your
employees.
Here’s an example from Angie’s List of their employees at a
convention. It doesn’t really have anything to do with their business, but
gives their audience a chance to know the people behind the screen.
Tell a Story
Whether it’s a story of one of your customers or your
employees, sharing a story can be a great way to build a connection with your
audience.
If you’re a realtor, for instance, you could tell stories
about your clients, how you helped them find their dream home, why you do what
you do, and more.
Plan Posts That Sell
Your Service
You may be wondering why you only want to sell your services
in two out of every nine posts. Well, Instagram isn’t inherently a promotion
platform – it’s a place where people share their photos and videos with friends
and family. That’s why it’s important to build a relationship with your
audience before going in for the sell.
Now is your time to show off a little though!
TruGreen did a great job of showing off their superior grass
in this Instagram post.
Of course this article only begins to touch on the best
practices for selling your services on Instagram. There are plenty of other
tips and tricks when it comes to crafting your captions or calls to action.
However, getting the basics down and figuring out what type of content you want
to share always comes first.
If you’re curious if marketing on Instagram is right for you
or are looking to take your social media marketing to the next level, call
Sales & Marketing Technologies today at 407-682-2222 to schedule a free
strategy session with one of our expert social media marketers.